Category Archives: Photography

February 11, 2025 · 22:10

Neptune

A dozen days ago I shared some pictures of the young, crescent moon and Venus, and in passing I said:

Not seen, but also there, is Neptune, just to the left of Venus. I might be able to pick it out as a pinpoint with my 8″ telescope (Venus and Saturn will show visible disks, Saturn’s rings would be clearly visible) and it might show some blue color, but the iPhone doesn’t have a chance.

Which, of course, led me straight down a rabbit hole of detailed star maps and pushing the pixels visible in a raw iPhone 13 image.

First of all, while this may have been the full-sized image:

…when you blow it way, way up and crop the area around Venus and those power lines, you get this (you probably have to click on these images to blow them up to full-screen size to see what I’m talking about):

And it’s pretty easy to see what I had referred to as a “quadralateral of four dimmer stars” (highlighted in the annotated image below):

After searching for some much more detailed and precise online star maps (courtesy of The Sky Live) and setting the parameters to match my photos, I had a MUCH better idea where Neptune truly was at the time I took the photos.

So, there’s Venus, and there’s that asterism of four dim stars, so Neptune should be right…THERE!

“…but the iPhone doesn’t have a chance.” Color me shocked, I wouldn’t have bet on that in a thousand years, but there it is!

Dumb And Dumber Quotes So Youre Telling Me Theres A Chance

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Filed under Astronomy, Photography

February 10, 2025 · 23:38

Sunset Launch

Just about perfect “just after sunset” timing for a SpaceX launch out of Vandenberg. I missed it, but my daughter caught it from near Downtown LA.

(Photo: Michi Willett)

I ran outside.

The rocket was long gone over the southern horizon, but the high altitude contrail, still lit up by the sun somewhere over the horizon to the west, was still glowing.

The other view I’ve seen is from the Virtual Railfan Hesperia/Cajon Pass webcam. If you can see a copy later, grab it. It’s great to see that when we move up to the High Desert we’ll still be able to see launches.

It lasted for a while, until the Sun moved on and the contrail dissipated.

 

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Filed under Airshows, Critters, Photography, Space, Sunsets

February 9, 2025 · 23:59

Inferior Bowl – Super Party

We were ready! First light for the new flag as well! (The old one had been shredded to bits by the high winds last month.)

We had a good crowd, as expected, about 20 friends, family, and co-workers.

Sadly, the Eagles’ defense was on their game and completely shut down the Chiefs’ offense until late in the third quarter, by which time the score was seriously out of reach. The Vuvuzela of Victory sat sad, silent, and lonely.

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Filed under Critters, KC Chiefs, Photography

February 8, 2025 · 22:43

Ready To Party

The Super Bowl is tomorrow, my beloved Chiefs are in it for the fourth time in six years, and trying for the first “three-peat” in NFL history. We’ll be having a party, as we’ve done the last several years.

The cleaning crew has gone through, furniture has been re-arranged, the banners are up, the Chiefs memorabelia and sacred icons are all on display.

The dining room tables will be covered with BBQ (imported from the legendary Joe’s BBQ in Kansas City), a salad bar, and the appropriate side dishes for a BBQ tailgate in the finest Arrowhead traditional style.

So many appetizers – nuts, fudge, cookies, vegys, fruit, pretzels, chips, shrimp, etc. So many desserts – cake, pie, ice cream, etc.

The kitchen fridge is stocked to overflowing with food.

The porch fridge & freezer is stuffed with sodas, beer, wine, water, and fudge. Let’s hope that the raccoons haven’t figured out how to open it up!

It should be an excellent game tomorrow. Enjoy it wherever you’re watching!

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Filed under Castle Willett, Critters, KC Chiefs, Photography

February 7, 2025 · 22:56

Returning Light

There were a bunch of weeks there in December and January where, if I was leaving the office about 17:45 and driving home, it was already pitch dark outside.

Yeah, I know what causes it, that whole “seasons,” and “axial tilt,” and “winter solstice” thing. Just sayin’, it was noticeably dark, early.

Tonight, leaving at 17:40 and driving west homeward, it really was noticeable that the sun was setting through the broken clouds, right in my eyes. The cyclic nature of that “axial tilt” thing had carried us past the solstice and we’re well on our way to the equinox next month.

The weather looks okay for the weekend, which will be nice for our Superb Owl party on Sunday, but there’s a lot more rain expected next week.

Good, we need it. I don’t want to get into another drought.

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Filed under Astronomy, Critters, Photography, Sunsets, Weather

February 6, 2025 · 22:58

Massive Props

And there’s two more on the other side!

I haven’t had any good plane pictures for a while (probably in part because I haven’t been out to the CAF hangar in quite a while) so I dug into the way-back machine to Fifi’s visit to CAF SoCal ten years ago. One of only two airworthy B-29’s left from WW2 (at the time it was the only one), she’s an astonishing aircraft to see up close, to walk through, and to fly. If you get the chance (she’ll be touring again this summer), go see her! Maybe even take a ride!

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Filed under CAF, Critters, Photography

February 5, 2025 · 23:45

Rain Stain

Drizzly & damp & cool. It never started raining hard enough to get the tree trunk in the back yard totally wet, but there was a dark water stain from where the water was draining down from the branches.

I’ve heard some folks are referring to these tiny moments of joy as “glimmers,” or “micro-joys.” It’s a little bit of a froufrou term, but I’m mellowing a lot in my old age.

These days we can all use as many glimmers as we can find. Look for yours!

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Filed under Critters, Photography, Weather

February 4, 2025 · 23:41

Music Center Plaza

When we were at the Music Center for the play at the Taper on Saturday, I got this view of City Hall across from the fountains in the center of Jerry Moss Plaza.

In the summer there will be kids out there playing chicken as the fountains pop up and down. In the low 40’s and windy, the crowds dancing in the water were smaller.

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Filed under Critters, Los Angeles, Photography

February 3, 2025 · 22:04

Sundog

Another “atmospheric river” is moving into Northern California and they’re expected to get clobbered this week – we’re going to catch the edge of it in SoCal, but it should still give us more than an inch of rain over three or four days. Let’s hope it’s gentle and doesn’t produce any mudslides or floods in the recently burned areas.

In advance of that storm, the sky was covered this afternoon with thin, high, wispy, icy clouds.

Looking toward the Sun as it was getting near the horizon, 22° of arc out, just above the roof and trees to the southwest, there was a rainbow-colored sundog.

Red on the sunward side, blue on the outside, there was probably another one on the opposite side of the Sun, but hidden by the house here.

There are some truly amazing images out there of extremely bright sundogs on opposite sides of the Sun, along with a 22° arc around the Sun. It’s all caused by the sunlight being scattered by the high altitude ice crystals, but watch out for fake and AI-generated images. It seems to be a favorite topic for fakes, probably because most folks don’t know what they really look like and get fooled.

When being awed by natural wonders, insist on the real thing!

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Filed under Astronomy, Critters, Photography, Weather

February 2, 2025 · 23:24

Groundhog Day Sunset

I don’t know if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow or not.

Here, we had enough clouds to make sunset spectacular, with the crescent Moon now well above the brilliant Venus.

Let February begin.

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Filed under Astronomy, Critters, Photography, Sunsets